Shouldn't it be Jackie Robinson's first AB?

I appreciate that sentiment but I wonder if Jackie's first ab in a regular season game was more critical for him than his first ab in spring training or in any number of first abs at visiting stadiums. Seems so many of his abs were critical. Interesting point, though.

What's amazing about the McCovey ab is that he crushed the ball. Yanks were fortunate there.

I think it was not so much critical for him, as it was critical for this country. Mad Men is reminding me of just how far we've come. That and Billie Holiday's Strange Fruit, I heard recently, for the first time in 15+ years.

As for WS winning ABs, you've got Joe Carter and what's-his-name who drove in the one run in the tenth inning of the seventh game of the Twins over Braves.

If the Trib met ever met the Sun Times in softball then the most critical AB of all time might have been when Ebert pitched to Siskel.

(4) Shut it down! We've got a winner!

I remember the at-bat vividly. I was just old enough to blurt out a {bad word} in front of my mother at the crack of the bat, but only got so far as the "fuh" before I began to jump and cheer. Mom, rest her soul, was jumping and cheering with me...and never a comment about the aborted expletive. Just shows how a baseball moment can bring a warm family memory back. It's why I love the game still.